Bike rider killed in Ballard

Friends, colleagues mourn UW scientist

By BRAD WONG, P-I REPORTER

Published 10:00 pm, Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Photo: Joshua Trujillo/Seattle Post-Intelligencer

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Elizabeth Schirmer lights a candle at a memorial for bicyclist Kevin Black, a 39-year-old father of two who died after colliding with a van Wednesday on 24th Avenue Northwest in Ballard. Schirmer’s brother-in-law was involved in a serious motorcycle accident in 2007 at the same intersection. Investigators are still trying to piece together what happened Wednesday. less

Elizabeth Schirmer lights a candle at a memorial for bicyclist Kevin Black, a 39-year-old father of two who died after colliding with a van Wednesday on 24th Avenue Northwest in Ballard. Schirmer’s ... more

Photo: Joshua Trujillo/Seattle Post-Intelligencer

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Kevin Black

Kevin Black

Bike rider killed in Ballard

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Kevin Black, a molecular neurobiologist, was such an avid bicyclist that he pedaled from Seattle to California for his high school reunion.

Colleagues at the University of Washington recalled the 39-year-old father of two girls as a man who excelled at his work, got along with others and had a car but never used it.

Black died Wednesday after he was involved in a morning accident with a Ford van in Ballard.

"Everybody loved him. He was the glue of my lab," said UW professor William Zagotta, his supervisor for 15 years.

Calls started flooding 911 dispatchers around 9 a.m. to report the accident. Black was riding south on 24th Avenue Northwest, and the van, which was traveling in the same direction, had moved into the two-way left turn lane, Jamieson said.

Black was on the van's left side, and possibly tried to pass it, when the driver turned, Jamieson said. He hit the pavement.

Laurel Whitley, who lives near the intersection, spotted Black in traffic and later heard his screams.

"I'll probably never forget that," she said. "It was an accident. It happened so fast."

Immediately after the van hit him, people rushed to help. A person administered CPR and a nurse stopped to help, employees at the nearby tavern The Viking said.

The female driver did not appear to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs, Jamieson said. She cooperated with the investigation.

Tavern employees said she was trying to make a turn to stop at The Viking and check on its refrigerators for regular maintenance.

Witnesses said Seattle firefighters and police officers arrived within minutes of the accident. Medics rushed Black to Harborview Medical Center.

By about 1 p.m., his friends had placed two long-stem red roses against a pole and put up a handwritten sign that said: "In Loving Memory Kevin Black."